Pleione albiflora

Also known as: The White Flowered Pleione in the subfamily: Epidendroideae

Native to: China

General Information

The White Flowered Pleione is a cool growing epiphytic orchid belonging to the sub family Epidendroideae native to China.

Plant Description

Grows to 30cm. Each new growth has numerous lance shaped leaves. Pseudobulbs grow to 3-4.6cm

Flowers

Numerous fragrant blossoms appear

Fragrance

The orchid is fragrant.

Substrate(s)

• Coarse

Care Notes

This orchid goes into a dormancy phase during winter, during this phase it is best not to provide water unless the plant is starting to look thirsty. The lack of water increases the chance of flowering in spring, and also reduces the likelihood of any rot forming. Do not resume watering until new growth has appeared and is growing strongly.

Often a period of intense growth occurs after dormancy. During this time the amount of light, water and fertiliser the plant receives will directly impact the amount of growth that occurs during this time, and in the case of seedlings, will reduce the time required to reach maturity.

It's recommended to heavily reduce the water amount at the middle to end of autumn to trigger dormancy. Leaves on older bulbs will begin to drop during this time while the newer bulbs continue to mature until terminal leaves appear at the tip of the pseudobulbs.

Repotting can be done any time of the year though it's best to do it in early spring when new growth is appearing as this also means new roots will appear to help the plant anchor into the new media and offset any damage to established roots during the repotting process.

 

Fragrant:

• IsFragrant

Climate

Grows at high elevations. Rainfall ranges from 8mm to 264mm per day, heaviest in July and lightest in December. Humidity ranges from 48% to 82%, highest in August and lowest in March. Temperature ranges from 0C to 22C, highest in June (14C to 22C) and lowest in January (0C to 13C).

Fertiliser

dormant-medium-demand-orchid Apply fertiliser regularly at half strength year round. Use a low Nitrogen fertiliser year round.

Potting

These plants are quite forgiving and will do well repotted ever 2-3 years. The mix should be coarse, well draining, and allow space for air to move and for roots to grow. 

Alternatively, these plants will also do well mounted to tree fern or cork slabs, or mounted to trees.

Best time for repotting or mounting the orchids is the end of winter when new growths start to appear. Avoid repotting during hot weather,

Use water retentive media such as moss to prevent roots from drying out quickly